Beating Gravity: Pop, Drop and Lock

When people think of Olympic lifting they immediately say, oh you lift the weights over your head. Yes we do. We get the weights over our heads, but we drive it up, we don’t lift it up.

Not making sense? Here’s where I am going with this. Too many people think you lift the bar from the ground to over your head. We don’t. We lift the bar to a point, and get under it. Hence beating gravity.

The best drill to demonstrate this is the drop Snatch. Start with the Bar on your back with a wide snatch Grip. Rise onto your toes and and immediately drop into a full snatch position. There should be no pressing of the bar higher than the starting point. So when you watch a drop snatch you should only see the bar moving in one direction, and that is down.

Everything around weightlifting revolves around beating gravity and getting under the bar.

We are not simply lifting the bar; we are driving it to a point, and getting under it as fast as we can. Drive the bar off the ground with your legs, and at the hips accelerates the bar as fast as we can. While the bar is still traveling on it’s upwards trajectory we get under the bar and catch it. That’s the principle of Weightlifting.

Stop thinking I need to lift the bar higher, and start thinking I need to get under the bar faster. I see big strong guys in many gyms struggling with this. They pull the hell out of the bar up to their chest, but then they don’t want to get under it to catch it. They want it to magically appear on their shoulders or overhead.

Speed against gravity is king. The ability to drop under a bar while it is still moving upwards is the key to a good lifter. Pop the Bar off your Hips, Drop under the Bar, then Lock out your arms.

Pop, Drop and Lock.
 

Weightlifting String Theory and the Hook Grip:

Before you all think I have gone off my rocker, somehow trying to relate quantum field theory to Olympic lifting let me assure you I am referring to the theory as it relates to Weightlifting, not Quantum physics.

The principle of string theory is to assume that your arms are merely pieces of sting holding the bar. From the ground to the point of acceleration the only responsibility of the arms are to hold the bar.

This is the exact reason that weightlifters employ the hook grip, or sometimes called the lock grip.

What this essentially means is that we lock our thumbs under the bar and our other fingers before lifting the bar off the ground. What this does is takes the strain off the hands and forearms and places it squarely on the back and leg muscles. 

A major mistake that beginners make is gripping the bar too tightly. Hold the bar, don't grip it. Don't grab it so tight your knuckles are going white. This plays straight back into the string theory. You want your hands and arms to be relaxed until you get to the point of acceleration. You do not want to start contracting your arms to early in the pull.

Plenty of people start pulling to early by bending the arms. We call this gorilla lifting. If you look at them when their arms bend they look like a gorilla in the wild with its front arms all the way on the floor, shoulders rounded forward. What this does is load up on your back muscles and takes away the drive you would have had from your legs. Your Legs drive the bar off the ground, your back keeps your spine straight in order to be in the correct position for the pull. Your arms, well they do nothing but hold the bar.

The pull doesn't happen until the bar gets to your hips. Up until that point your arms need to be straight, and relaxed while holding the weight. A good way of thinking about it is by driving the world away from you with your legs. Keep yourself in the same position and drive the ground down. Hopefully by doing this you can concentrate on keeping your arms straight and be in the correct position at the point of acceleration.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and  friends. Next blog update on Friday.

High Bar vs Low Bar Squats

SQUATS:  High Bar vs. Low Bar?

So now that I have cover my opinion on squatting the next burning question on everyone’s minds is which squats are best, high bar or low bar squats.

Well that depends on what you are trying to achieve. Are you trying to be a better Olympic Lifter, or are you trying to squat your heaviest weight?

The biggest debate among weightlifters and Powerlifters has always been who the best squatters are. Let me break it down like this. Powerlifters squat heavier than weightlifters. Sorry weightlifters but Powerlifters do indeed squat more than us, a lot more. Yes I know what you are thinking; they wear squat suits and knee raps. Yes they do, but the fact still remains they squat a hell of a lot more than Olympic lifters do.

The biggest difference in my mind is the depth of the squat. Powerlifters only squat to parallel, or when the crease of the hips gets below the knees. That’s the laws of their competition. We can’t fault them for not doing a full squat.

Olympic lifters do a full squat. I mean full, ass to the grass, in the hole or the bucket squats. We do this because the lower we can squat, the less height we need to pull the bar in order to get under it for the snatch or clean. Olympic lifters only essentially need to squat a weight they want to snatch and clean. That’s does not mean we shouldn't squat heavy. You should, as heavy as you can.

So should Olympic lifters be doing a Powerlifting squat? Yes, sure, why not. Any time you can put a load on your back that is going to make you stronger for Olympic lifting it is a good thing.

Do it in conjunction with your regular deep squats, not as a replacement. I only do heavy Powerlifting style squats once a week. The other days its full back squats, front squats and overhead squats. Everything has its place, especially squats.

If you want to see how a Bodybuilder, Strong Man, Powerlifter and Weightlifter match up against each other check out this video:

When in doubt, SQUAT.

When in doubt Squat.

If there was one exercise you should do every day of your life, what would it be? 

You guessed it, Squat. I cannot reiterate this enough. Squatting is the most fundamental basic principle of all athletic in devours. The legs are the powerhouse of the human body. Yet are more often than not the most neglected.

If you don't feel like doing snatches, squat. If you had a bad day, squat. If you're bored, squat. You can never go wrong with a squat. You can never do wrong by a squat. When in doubt, squat, is not just a saying, it's not just a principle, it's life. If you are involved in any of the aforementioned strength training sports Squats should be the most important exercise in your training regime.

Research has proved that the bodies natural levels of testosterone are elevated 20 minutes after doing heavy squats. This was the philosophy behind the weightlifting training I did as a kid. Front squat in the morning, break, then training. Back squat in the evening after training. That's squatting twice a day every day, except Sunday. We only squatted once on Sunday's.

People don't like squats, because they are hard. They are hard because they are good for you. They are hard because the biggest gains in strength you will ever see will come from squatting. Increasing your squat will help all of your olympic lifts. Increasing your squat will help increase your max dead lift and clean. Believe it or not increasing your squat will even help increase your max bench press. I am not discussing benching technique in this post but trust me it will. I am not even discussing the merits of a high bar vs low bar squat in this post. 

Just SQUAT, every day, every session, every workout. It's not just a saying, when in doubt, SQUAT!!!

Look out for more posts next week.

Who's King of the Zoo?

Who's King of the Zoo?

So now that we have covered the "zoo" and all the players, the obvious question is, who is the strongest?

Drum roll please ........... I don't care!!!

Sorry to disappoint you, but I actually don't care. To much time has been spent over the years and decades debating which strength sport is the "True" champion of strength. We are all missing the point. 

I am an Olympic weightlifter. I want to do well at Olympic Weightlifting. I don't care about What people are doing or lifting in the other strength sports, I want to do well in my sport. As they do not care what we are doing or lifting in our sport.

Here is where I am going to contradict myself a little. While I might not care who is the "true" champion of strength, I do follow and like to keep up to date with what those in other strength sports are doing.

Why? Because we are all in the same game. We all want to be the best that we can be. To dismiss one as better than the other is naive. And to believe one is superior to another simply by our allegiances is just plain stupid.

Let me give you an example. My training partner in NYC is a former competitive Powerlifter and current Brazilian Jujitsu practitioner Harry Hanson. Harry Is the owner of what is probably the most respected and well established Private training studio in New York City, Hanson Fitness. As well as being one of the strongest 50 something year olds I have ever met, I consider him a Mentor, and a friend.

I have learnt more about strength training with Harry in the past two years than I have in a lifetime. This coming from a former international Weightlifter. 

I have learned the benefits of a Powerlifting Low bar squat, the correct technique for the Bench press , and much more from Him. Do our styles differ, of course they do. He does a sumo dead lift, I do an over grasp, narrow grip dead lift with straps. Again because I am a weightlifter this is the most beneficial style for how I lift. I don't dismiss his style, or opinion simply because he trains for a different sport than me.

I was always told that weightlifters should not do bench press. It will tighten up your shoulders and be detrimental to your Olympic lifts. Yet since I have been benching with Harry, the only change I have seen is an increase in my Clean and Jerk. 

There is something to be learned from all sports. Stop fighting and bickering, and start listening. Open your ears and minds. Weightlifters can learn about strength from Powerlifters, Powerlifters can learn about dieting and weight loss from Bodybuilders. We can all learn about dedication, team work and comradery from Crossfit. 

My point: We can all learn from each other.

Who's who, in the Zoo !!!

“A guide to knowing your weight training Sports”

By

RYAN ERASMUS

Anyone who frequents a Fitness Centre or Gymnasium will have heard the
terms Bodybuilder, Powerlifter and Weightlifter, but how many actually
know what these three distinctly different sports are? Surprisingly,
there are plenty of people, including those who work in the fitness
industry who don’t. Below is a short description of what these sports
are, and how they differ from one another.
Bodybuilders train to develop their muscles in order for them to be
judged on a stage based on the overall quality of their muscular
development. Judging is based upon the presentation of the following;
•       MASS
•       DEFINITION
•       PROPORTION
•       SYMMETRY
•       STAGE PRESENCE
While the ultimate goal of Bodybuilding is to win a competition, the
sport itself is comprised of months, if not years of dedicated
training. Athletes are large and muscular, and generally train
specific body groups on individual days. It is not uncommon for a
chest workout to include up to 8 separate exercises. The “Push/Pull”
principle is synonymous with Bodybuilding. They are also the masters
of Supplementation. Most will eat up to 8 times a day and use a
variety of supplemental products. If you have questions about diet,
eating or supplementation, you should defiantly talk to a Bodybuilder.

Powerlifting is a competitive sport comprised of THREE lifts: the
Squat, Dead-Lift and Bench Press. Athletes attempt a one repetition
max in all three disciplines with the winner being the athlete who
lifts the highest accumulative total of all three lifts. Athletes will
train specific “Brute Strength” exercises’ for these events.
Powerlifters are usually rather bulky individuals. These three lifts
are considered to be the “Essential Strength Training” Techniques.
•       SQUAT
•       DEAD-LIFT
•       BENCH PRESS

Weightlifting is the only one of the sports featured as an Olympic
Event. Hence, it often is referred to as Olympic Weightlifting, or
simply Olympic Lifts. Weightlifting consists of two lifts:
•       THE SNATCH,
The bar is lifted from the ground to directly overhead in one
movement, while either splitting or squatting under the bar
•       THE CLEAN & JERK
The bar is first lifted or cleaned to the shoulders and then Jerked
overhead while either splitting or squatting under the bar.
The winner will be the athlete who lifts the highest accumulative
total of both lifts combined.
Ironically when looking at the names of the three sports, it is
weightlifting that provides the highest amount of explosive strength
and power. Weightlifters will train specific variations of these two
lifts with the emphasis being on explosiveness and power. Most
professional athletes will incorporate Olympic weightlifting
techniques into their strength training schedules.

So, Bodybuilders have amazing physiques and an in depth knowledge of
Dieting and Supplementation. Powerlifters, have amazing brute strength
and physical presence. Finally, weightlifters are extremely compact
and powerful.

So next time you go to the gym, hopefully you will know “Who’s who in the Zoo”